Baby cats should be given milk formula for cats It is the special food for the baby cat to obtain the necessary vitamins and the development of the immune system with the advantage of obtaining a healthy organism over time until adulthood.
What is milk replacer for cats?
Artificial milk formula is a food that we can buy at any veterinary office or clinic and, however, it is not as effective as mother's milk, it covers the nutritional needs of kittens. In this phase they require about twenty-one to twenty-six calories per hundred grams of weight. We can temporarily replace it with an emergency infant formula recipe.
Breast milk should be cooked just before giving it to kittens and should be given to felines with sterile nipple pumps or nipples. The correct thing is that each little one has his own jacket. It is advisable not to prepare the milk in advance, but if you had to, you should keep it in the fridge at a maximum temperature of 4°C, and it should never last more than two days.
Syringes are more appropriate for How to feed a baby cat less than a month old since the bottle nipples are too big for baby cats or have a large enough liquid hole for them.
The milk should be given at a temperature of 37 to 38 degrees centigrade, it is preferable to heat it in a water bath since if you heat it in the microwave, very hot bubbles of liquid will form and others very cold. The kitten must discover the absorption instinct to be able to feed it with the bottle, otherwise it could induce ingestion problems. If not, consult your vet.
Can cats drink cow's milk?
Like all living beings, at birth, breast milk is the correct food to be able to obtain the necessary nutrition in the same way that the baby cat needs its mother to be able to breastfeed it, but what can we do when this does not happen? The question certainly arises if we can give him cow's milk to drink, but we know if its consumption is harmful to the animal's health.
As we know, cow's milk is made up of lactose, which in the last decade has lowered its reputation as there have been many cases of people who are lactose intolerant. In the case of mammalian animals, cow's milk is difficult to digest due to its dense consistency, the digestive system has a process that develops over the years and gets used to different types of food.
Cats that are breastfed by their mothers have a high production of the house, which is an enzyme that digests the lactose present in breast milk. When weaning occurs, it is over, it has less production in the body, this allows the animal to prepare it for its next meal and stop consuming breast milk and seek its own sustenance.
The composition of cat milk formula is totally different from that of cows, it has less lactose, so when preparing milk formula for cats it is necessary to use lactose-free cow's milk, there is also the option of cow's milk goat that has a percentage of lactose.
Can adult cats drink milk?
We have always seen that the cat, whether adult or small, likes to drink milk, but as the cat grows, as we explained earlier, the production of the lactase enzyme decreases, resulting in some type of lactose intolerance. .
Processes recommends accustoming the cat to a diet so that when it is an adult it has the necessary nutrients to be able to provide it with good health. In his diet you can include commercial cat food wet food and some homemade recipes.
3 homemade recipes to prepare milk formula for cats
If you have a kitten, the ideal is to take it to the veterinarian so that he can tell you if the baby cat is still in the breastfeeding period, if it is affirmative, the veterinarian will indicate which milk formula for cats is recommended to be able to continue with the necessary nutrition.
Nowadays, there are brands of formula for cats on the commercial market, which are an option when it comes to continuing with a good diet for the kitten. We can name two most recognized brands of formula for cats:
- Royal Canine.
- Whiskas
However, there is also the possibility of giving him formula milk for cats as natural as possible and below we show you three recipes to prepare homemade milk for kittens:
Recipe 1
As we have already mentioned, it is necessary to take into account the nutrients that the baby cat needs in order to prepare the correct formula of components:
- The yellow of an egg.
- 250 ml of whole milk without dairy content.
- 150 ml of milk cream, with XNUMX% fat.
- 5ml of pure honey, glucose can also be used in the case of not having honey, which is the most recommended.
Recipe 2
It is a preparation based on goat's milk, whose composition is very similar to that of the cat, which benefits good digestion. The ingredients are the following:
- 250 ml of goat's milk.
- An egg yolk.
- 150 ml of low-fat Greek yogurt without dairy content.
Recipe 3 (especially aimed at malnourished kittens)
Generally, kittens are abandoned and rescued, and do not comply with the period of lactation provided by the cat mother, resulting in the possible malnutrition of the baby cat and likewise any type of deadly diseases since their defenses are low due to lack of development. of the immune system.
For those cases we will teach you how to prepare a homemade recipe, which will serve as an energy source, resulting in the ideal substance to restore the lack of nutrients in a few days after starting to supply it. Remember that it is important to have the veterinarian aware of this preparation so that they can help you if side effects occur due to the excessive amount of protein and fat that this preparation of formula for cats contains.
The ingredients for milk formula are:
- 200 ml of full milk without dairy additive.
- One egg only the yellow one.
- 15 g of calcium caseinate, a valuable organic protein from milk.
- 10 g of butter.
- 5 ml of pure honey.
- 25 ml of milk cream with forty percent% fat preferably.
General recipe preparation
The preparation of the three recipes is simple, you just have to start with the mixture of the ingredients indicated in each recipe:
- Stir the ingredients in a container until the milk is yellowish in color and thicker than normal.
- To heat the milk for cats, drink it in a pot in a water bath when it reaches 37 degrees Celsius, pour it into a bottle or sterile syringe to be able to supply it.
The preparation of these formula formula for cats lasts one to two days after its preparation, you must keep it in the fridge to prevent it from going bad.
How much milk does a puppy cat need to consume?
The amount of milk that a kitten should drink varies in harmony with the daily energy requirements that each cat needs and they change as the cat develops and gains weight, gaining a little muscle mass. Although, the recommended amount is one hundred grams of weight, you will be given twenty calories in the day.
When the mother cat nurses them, it is common for kittens to ingest the milk in small amounts; Likewise, it is feasible that they feed about 20 feeds a day. Normally, at each feeding the kittens ingest between 10-20ml of milk, however, they have a stomach condition of a little more or less fifty milliliters. As for the interval of space that exists between each feeding, baby cats tend to assimilate milk and capture the nutrients that it offers them.
fed baby kitten
When a baby cat is offered homemade formula milk, it is mandatory to make sure to give it several times a day, constantly respecting both its nap and digestion periods.
It is best to give them between six and eight shots per day at intervals of around three to five hours.
It is essential to be punctual regarding the nutrition of the kittens and to make sure that they are never left without food for periods longer than the indicated hours.
It should be noted that sudden dietary changes, as well as the abundance of milk and the exaggerated time intervals between feedings, could cause kittens to develop symptoms of stress and manifest with vomiting and diarrhea.
Three homemade weaning porridge recipes for baby cats
Generally speaking, weaning is usually heard as an instant, however, the authentic thing is that it consists of a procedure that all mammals tend to feel; so it is convenient to assume that it is not only a dietary change. Actually, it is the introduction between the baby phase and adult existence, in which the cat has to consider the measure to become independent from its mother and survive on its own.
That is the impulse by which it is essential to meet the weaning age when making the decision to welcome a new pet and bring it into the home while it is still a baby. When the kittens grow up and are suckled by their mother, it is usually usual that the curiosity related to his tendency drives him to want to check with the mother's food, which usually begins to happen during his first month of life, since it is at this time that his teeth begin to grow.
At the point where the baby cat is one month old, it will be feasible to start giving it solid food, however, it is best to do it with baby cat foods and wet foods in porridge to facilitate chewing and then easy digestion.
Once you have all the necessary knowledge, we present a list of three homemade recipes to continue with good nutrition for the benefit of the cat:
Recipe 1: homemade baby formula porridge and balanced feed
The ingredients for the first preparation are the following:
- A cup of feed formulated for baby kittens.
- A cup of homemade formula milk at a temperature of 37 degrees Celsius.
Preparation of the porridge: The first thing to do is heat the milk in a container as we have already indicated in a bain-marie, add the cup of feed or cat, let the mixture rest for a few minutes or until the cat is completely soft. Next, place the mixture in the blender until the mixture takes the consistency of a porridge, it is recommended to serve the baby cat the porridge warm or lukewarm.
This mixture is recommended so that baby cats get used to this type of feeding, since this milk will have a new flavor that is cattail, which is the food that will be fed in the future. And in this way the cat will get the necessary nutrients for healthy development.
It must be borne in mind that the inclusion of solid food for the kitten is progressive along with the natural food provided by the mother cat.
Thus, the porridge will be given starting with one per day, and it will be gradually increased until it is only nourished with solid food completely during the day. Remember that it is important that the veterinarian is aware of this entire procedure due to possible side effects.
Recipe 2: homemade turkey/chicken and carrot porridge
The following ingredients are necessary for its preparation:
- 1 carrot
- Boiled water
- 150 grams of turkey/chicken breast.
Preparation: It is an easy and simple recipe to prepare and is perfect for kittens, helping to provide the necessary complement and the inclusion of more solid foods. Place the chicken or turkey breast and the peeled and chopped carrot in a pot with water, bring to a high heat, when the breast and carrot are soft, let them rest a bit to be able to blend to the point of puree. Give the baby cat the porridge when it is lukewarm.
Recipe 3: homemade chicken liver porridge
The preparation of this porridge needs the following ingredients:
- Water
- 200 grams of chicken liver.
Preparation: It is a porridge recipe which is feasible to adapt with the term of combining an exquisite homemade pâté for baby kittens; With the intention of obtaining the porridge, it is essential to cook the livers with a large amount of water, even if they are wonderfully cooked.
Subsequently, they must be left to warm for 10 minutes before blending with one hundred milliliters of the warm water used for boiling.
It is mandatory to keep in mind that the porridge must be allowed to cool down properly before giving it to the kittens. It should be noted that, in order to achieve a soft pâté, it is necessary to filter the livers perfectly immediately after boiling them and crush them slightly using a utensil or instead, pass them through the food processor.
Weight control of kittens at birth
The weight at birth of the baby cat is a significant element of diagnosis. It is determined that a low birth weight is linked to the threat of diseases of newborns. Research shows that 59% of stillborn or dead cats a few days after delivery had a lower birth weight. If the cat received inadequate nutrition for her organic period during her gestation, the weight of the kittens may be affected.
At the same time, kittens with a low starting weight have a higher metabolism and higher energy needs. They are more predisposed to hypoglycemia. To archive the data, we recommend that you record the weight of the kittens on a sheet of paper every day, at least for a period of fifteen days after birth. The frequent birth weight of a kitten is between ninety and one hundred and ten grams.
The baby kittens they should acquire about fifteen or thirty grams every day during the thirty days and as a minimum weight of seven to ten grams daily and should double this weight half a month after birth. Just at that moment it will progressively increase between fifty every seven days.
There is no difference in weight by gender in the first weeks of life. Weight loss may be tolerable if it does not exceed ten percent per day and only if it affects part of the litter of kittens. But if the entire litter shows weight loss, it is convenient to examine why in order to treat them in time, visit the veterinarian if necessary. If a kitten's weight decreases each day, the food is probably insufficient or of poor quality.